Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9
What to Do with Your Stuff
Before you go, you'll find yourself walking through your house looking at all your possessions, won-
dering what you are going to do with them all. You can't take it with you. If you are going on a long trip,
you can store your things in a public storage locker, but that costs money. I've found the best solution is
simply to sell everything you own. While I know that seems like a huge undertaking, you'll see in this chapter
that there are many ways to get rid of your stuff and lighten your load. It simply takes time. When you come
back, you'll find you have a new appreciation for simplicity, and you'll be amazed at how much stuff you had
that you didn't really need—so sell everything. I used to have so much stuff. Now, when I do go home, I find
myself needing less stuff than I did before. You just learn to live without. That might not be good for every-
one, but at the very least, selling your stuff provides you with money for your trip.
There are many websites out there that can help you sell your stuff. In the United States, the best and most
famous site is probably Craigslist (craigslist.com). You can buy and sell anything there, and I used it to get rid
of my stuff before I traveled. In the UK and Australia, the equivalent site is Gumtree (gumtree.com), while
in New Zealand their Craigslist equivalent is trademe.co.nz. Moreover, you can always sell things on eBay
(ebay.com) or have a garage sale.
If you do want to keep your stuff and can't store it at someone else's home or keep it in your own home
while you rent it out, you can rent a public storage locker, though again, this costs money. Storage companies
like Public Storage (publicstorage.com) start at $35 USD per month. That's money you could be spending on
your trip.
Whatever your choice, try to minimize as much as possible. This not only reduces the amount of stuff you
have to store but it frees your mind. No one wants to be worrying about a TV or computer or paying that
storage bill while hiking through the mountains of Nepal.
What to Do with Bills and Mail
Sometimes we can't get rid of all our bills. When we go on the road long-term, we ideally lose lots of
bills—car payments, insurance, rent, phone bills, and cable. However, there might be loans or debt you have
to pay off that you just can't get away from. I am still paying off my student loans, albeit slowly and with
small payments. Even if we can't get rid of our bills, we can still make our life easier and give ourselves
fewer headaches. Most people use automatic bill pay these days. I use it for everything. My student loan is
automatically deducted from my bank account each month. I don't worry about cutting a check.
Moreover, I only use one credit card on the road. I used to use a few, but I found I was always missing
deadlines. By tying everything to one card, you'll make it much easier to remember to pay your bill while on
the beaches of Thailand than if you try to remember to pay all sorts of different bills when all you really want
to do is lie on a beach.
